Synopsis:
"In opdracht van het Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden legde fotograaf Dolph Kessler de karakteristieke binnenstad van Leeuwarden en grote evenementen als Bevrijdingsdag en Koninginnedag vast.
Niet alleen vanaf de grond, maar ook vanaf de Oldehove, de Achmeatoren en het nieuwe Provinsjehûs. Naast de drukte op de Nieuwestad fotografeerde Kessler ook dat deel van het centrum waar de hectiek van het winkelhart nauwelijks waarneembaar is.

Uit de inleiding van oud-hoogleraar architectuur en stedenbouwgeschiedenis Auke van der Woud: ‘Kessler ordent zijn beelden, maar vertelt er geen verhaal mee. Leeuwarden is voor hem licht, kleur en vorm, de stad is een schouwspel. Maar geen spektakel."

Short contents:
Commissioned by the Centre for History in Leeuwarden, photographer Dolf Kessler captured on photo the characteristic center of Leeuwarden and major events such as Liberation Day and Queen's Day. He made photographs not only from the ground, but also from the Oldehove, the Achmea Tower and the new Provinsjehûs.
Besides the crowds at the Nieuwestad Kessler also photographed the part of the center where the bustle of the shopping center is almost imperceptible.

From the introduction of former professor of architecture and history of urban planning Auke van der Woud: "Kessler arranges his images, but does not tell a story with them. To him, Leeuwarden is light, color and form, the city is a sight. But not a spectacle.

This book is part of the Frisian raffle prize and will be handed out when the prize will be drawn.

Congratulations! I hope you like the book and the other goodies that are part of the prize! :-)

I was so excited to have found this book and taking it with me to Oxford, that I completely forgot to leave room for my own opinion (and that of 10n3k3, who was visiting yesterday).

So.... here some words from me, citizen of the city pictured in the book.

I like the book, I think the pictures are all beautiful. But. (I bet you heared that one coming!?)
There's one big but. If this was really meant to be a book about the characteristic historical center of Leeuwarden, I miss a few streets and buildings, like the old city hall, the palace and the street and square leading up to them.
I would have liked less pictures of youth hanging around at night (festival of Liberation Day) and exchanged them of those pictures.

Nevertheless, this is a book that gives a good idea about what the city centrer of Leeuwarden looks like at the moment. The pictures in the chapter Changes in the city have changed now: the new buildings and the main square are finished.

My favorite pictures:
- page 2 de Waag (the Weigh House, where in the old days freight was weighed).
- page 32-33 de Nieuwstad
- page 80-81 view on the town in north-eastern direction
- page 117 Jacobijnerkerkhof, a very quiet part of town, actually a kind of square near the church and nearby the Jewish monument.

*My English is not good at all, that's why Boekentrol is writing down here what I have to say about this book.*

When I was visiting Boekentrol yesterday, she told me that she had reserved a book for Oxford, for the Frisian raffle prize.
I've lived in Leeuwarden my whole life, have seen it change and I was curious to see what the photographer caught in his photos.

I love good photos, but in my humble opinion, there are too many people in the pictures. A town may be formed and shaped and receive life from its inhabitants, but still, more pictures without people would have been nice.
What I also miss is several characteristic buildings (the old town house nostalgia, for I've worked there a long time when I was still young), the theatre, the Palace of Justice in a more prominent way, the Railway station.

Nevertheless, it is a great book and I hope that it will be well received, where-ever it travels.

My favorite pictures are:
- page 14-15 Nieuwestad
- page 27 poem in the pavement
- page 35 the new Provinsjehûs, where the people work who govern the province
- page 62 view on the town center
- page 116 near the Jacobijnerkerkhof

I would love, just like Boekentrol, to learn what you think of this book and what your favorite pictures are, if you have any.

Thank you to Boekentrol for this book and the rest of the fantastic Frisian raffle prize that I was lucky enough to win at the Convention in Oxford. I opened the prize with my girls and we all very much enjoyed exploring the individually wrapped parcels - yummy (and thankfully low calorie) biscuits, shoe shaped licorice (loved by my girls), bookmarks, a mug, a towel, and much more besides. My rating is for the whole prize which I was, and remain, thrilled to have won.
I think my favourite thing in the whole prize was the lovely bag - just the right colours for me and the perfect size for all the things I need to take to work each day. It came at just the right time as my old work bag was falling apart, has been put to immediate use and I love it!
Anyway back to the book :-). Sorry it's taken such a long time to journal! Thank you for the extremely helpful translations - without those I would have been lost.
My favourite pictures:
The front cover - love the bright colours and cobbled street.
P2 - a very unusually shaped building.
P14-15 and 16-17 - great panoramic views.
p115 - would like to have a wander down this street - in fact I like most of the pictures in this section of the book.
I'm inclined to agree with what you have both already said - there are too many pictures of people, many of which could show pretty much any European city or town. I'd like to have seen more of the architecture that's unique to your area of the world - there are glimpses in some photos, but not enough to get the full picture.
I feel that this book should be enjoyed by more people - will give some thought to who to hand on to next so that it can continue it's journey and get more views on favourite photos.